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Owens, Cornish finalists as top player

Thursday, 8 November 2012 - 2:19pm

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO—Jon Cornish again is chasing CFL history.
The Calgary Stampeders’ running back was named a finalist for the league’s outstanding player award, along with receiver/kick-returner Chad Owens of the Toronto Argonauts.

Cornish ran for a league-best 1,457 yards and not only became the first Canadian to lead the CFL in rushing since ’88 but also broke Norm Kwong’s 56-year-old record for most rushing yards in a season by a Canuck of 1,437.
The 6’0”, 217-pound native of New Westminster, B.C. could become the first Canadian to claim the award since Tony Gabriel in 1978.
Gabriel and former standout quarterback Russ Jackson (1963, ’66, ’69) are the only Canadians to ever win it.
And Cornish would be the first running back to do so since Montreal’s Mike Pringle in ’98.
Owens, meanwhile, set a pro football record of 3,863 all-purpose yards.
The 30-year-old Hawaii native also led the CFL in receiving (94 catches, 1,328 yards, six TDs), kick-off returns (71 for 1,588 yards), and total return yards (2,510).
“Me, personally, I set the bar high for myself . . . having a chance to be a [most outstanding player] that’s the top, right?” Owens remarked.
“As a player, you never want to try to be No. 2 . . . you always want to try to be the best.
“So for me, it’s winning the Grey Cup, obviously,” he noted. “And, if I’m fortunate enough, to have an opportunity to one day be a most outstanding player.”
Voting was conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and eight CFL head coaches. The award winners will be named Nov. 22 in Toronto.
Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich said there isn’t much to choose between Owens and Cornish.
“He’s had a great season, too,” Milanovich said of Cornish. “They’re both deserving.”
Owens agreed.
“Cornish is an awesome player,” he said. “He’s obviously done what he needed to do to get to this point, to get nominated, as well.
“He’s a hell of a football player.”
Quarterback Ricky Ray threw for 4,059 yards in his first season with Toronto and credited Owens with helping ease his transition following nine seasons in Edmonton.
“He made my job easy,” Ray said. “He’s definitely a play-maker, whether it’s offence or special teams, so I’m just happy to have him on my team and helping me out.”
This marks the third-straight year Owens has been nominated for an award. He was named the league’s top special-teams player in 2010 and was the finalist last year to B.C. kicker Paul McCallum.
Cornish and Montreal Alouettes’ linebacker Shea Emry, of Richmond, B.C., were nominated in two categories.
They’re finalists for the top Canadian award while Emry will go up against Edmonton linebacker J.C. Sherritt for outstanding defensive player honours.
Sherritt had a league-record 130 tackles this season, along with three sacks and five interceptions.
“Shea’s had a great season” Cornish said. “His game versus Toronto a few weeks back—I was impressed by how fast he was.
“He’s laid some licks and he’s a great player,” Cornish added. “I’ve always really enjoyed playing against him.
“[The award] could go either way.”
Emry had a career-best 87 tackles to finish fifth in the CFL while adding seven sacks and seven special-teams tackles.
He’s the first Canadian to be named a finalist for the top defensive player award since 2006, when defensive end Brent Johnson, a native of Kingston, Ont. won it.
Johnson, Edmonton’s Dave Fennell (1978), and Saskatchewan’s Bill Baker (1976) are the only Canadians to be named the league’s top defensive player.
The other nominees include Hamilton receiver Chris Williams and B.C.’s Tim Brown (top special-teams player), Lions’ offensive lineman Jovan Olafioye and Montreal tackle Josh Bourke (outstanding lineman), and Winnipeg receiver Chris Matthews and B.C. defensive lineman Jabar Westerman (top rookie).